Haunted Revenge
by Science-Fantasy93
Summary: Sequel to the DLSS Cruise: The Replacement is alive and once more stalking James, Katie, and the rest of the group. They may have escaped the DLSS Cruise, but they haven't escaped The Replacement's rage. He will haunt them until he gets his revenge, and nothing will stand in his way this time.
1. Chapter 1

**_Welcome to Haunted Revenge, the sequel to the DLS-S Cruise! This is my first time writing a sequel to a fanfiction story, so hopefully it'll turn out okay. And it's important that you've read the DLS-S Cruise so that you understand what's happening and what has happened. Seriously, if you haven't finished the story, go and do that before you read this, because there's a bunch of spoilers in here._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush, or anything else you recognize. I only own the plot, and I'm not making money off of that (sadly)._**

**_Warnings: This story is, for the time being, rated T, though it might move to M if it gets too dark. But for now, the warnings are cussing, sexual innuendos, mentions of teenage sex, mentions of violence, and a certain stalker..._**

**_So, a HUMONGOUS thank you to everyone who stuck by the DLS-S Cruise, and who will end up reading this. I'm always nervous about posting a new story, and this one is no exception. And it's probably going to be a little slow at first, but it will eventually pick up pace. Anyway, hopefully I've got the timeline pretty well established, but just in case, the story starts three weeks after the DLS-S Cruise ends. One more order of business (sorry, but if you've read my stories, you know I tend to write EXTREMELY LONG A/Ns). The DLS-S Cruise's rating is about to get changed to M because of the sex and violence in it._**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

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**Chapter One: Consequences of Our Mistakes**

**Katie's POV**

*****_**Excerpt from In Tune magazine**_*****

_**It has been three weeks since pop star James Diamond and reality TV show host, Carlos Garcia, along with their former band mates, two family members, Rocque Record producer, and Rocque Record Assistant Producer, escaped near death on the cruise ship they were reportedly vacationing on. Allegedly, a time bomb was buried within the ship and exploded, killing four people, including CEO of Griffin Enterprises Arthur Griffin, and reality show producer Snake Timmons, who were also onboard with the pop star and host.**_

_**It is unconfirmed as to who placed the bomb on the ship, and it is unclear on just who the assassin was targeting, but there have not been any more attempts on Diamond's and Garcia's lives, so it may have been Griffin or Timmons who were the intended victims.**_

"_**It's an awful tragedy, and we mourn deeply for their families," James Diamond said last week at a press conference. He has had ties to Arthur Griffin's daughter, socialite and model Mercedes Griffin, and some say they were romantically involved at one time. However, when asked about these rumors, he just shakes them off. "She's a very good friend of mine, we've known each other since we were 16. I'll always be there for her, and her for me."**_

_**In fact, Diamond has been seen around town with ex-band mate Kendall Knight's younger sister, Katie Knight, 19. Whether the two are in a romantic relationship has yet to be seen, although there have been rumors that they were involved three years ago, just before the band broke up. Whether this could have had anything to do with Big Time Rush's mysterious and sudden breakup, this unbiased reporter is not at liberty to say, but it seems like a very likely answer to the question that many pop-music-lover fans have been asking themselves for three years. Of course, if evidence comes to light that his relationship was, in any way, sexual with Miss Knight, then he will be brought in front of a judge for statutory rape.**_

_**However, the chances of anyone prying into his and Miss Knight's relationship from three years ago, whether friendly, romantic, or sexual, is very slim, so James Diamond fans can relax.**_

_**Nevertheless, it appears that Miss Knight has moved into his Beverly Hills mansion with him for the time being, without her brother and mother, who were also on the cruise.**_

_**In other Big Time Rush news, BTR appears to be rekindling their old flames, as they have been seen out and about together. Could there be a Big Time Rush reunion on the horizon? Is there a chance that we may be hearing new music from them? Big Time Rush fans can only hope.**_

_**Stay tuned for more news about the bands' alleged reconciliation, their love interests, and their mysterious and fortunate escape from the cruise ship!**_

_**(This is an excerpt from the July issue of InTune Magazine, your go-to magazine for all things pop music!)**_

I shook my head as I folded up the magazine article and shoved it into my purse. Unbelievable. Even three weeks later, there were still articles popping up about our escape from the DLS-S Cruise and James' and my relationship.

Mom looked over at me and patted my leg. "Whatever they said, I'm sure it's lies."

I shook my head. "It's all speculation, they don't have any solid facts. They were talking about a Big Time Rush reunion."

"That'd be wonderful!"

"Or it would be a complete disaster," I replied. "Kendall, James, and Logan, still want to kill each other – Kendall wants to kill James for sleeping with me, James wants to kill Logan for being the reason the band fell apart, and Logan just wants to kill everyone for getting in the way of his dreams of becoming a world class surgeon."

"Honey, you're exaggerating," Mom said patiently. "They've forgiven each other – more or less. How are you and James doing?"

I shrugged.

"Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?"

I shook my head. "I haven't even bought one."

"You need to. Your period's two weeks late – you could very well be pregnant."

"I'm aware."

"We'll get you a couple on the way home from the police station," she decided, speaking to me reassuringly. "You need to know whether or not you and James will be parents."

I swallowed hard, setting the June issue of InTune Magazine back on the rack. The sheriff was going to call us in any moment. They may have identified the captain, who had been killed on the DLS-S Cruise, and wanted us to take a look at his picture so that we could give them an affirmative or negative on his identity. Mom and I were the only ones at the police station because the others had work or negotiations or patients to check up on.

"I know you don't want to think about it," Mom said to me softly, "but you do need to know. You need to take responsibility for your actions."

"Even though those actions took place on the cruise of hell?"

"When it results in a new life being created, then yes."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll take one tonight."

"Have you and James talked about this at all?"

"A little bit…"

"Are you two still undefined?"

"Yeah. We haven't actually said whether or not we're together. I mean, we love each other and I'm staying in his house, but…" I shook my head. "It's just as confusing as it was three years ago."

"Only this time it's legal," Mom put in.

"Thanks for that," I mumbled. It was true, being sixteen and sleeping with a nineteen year old was pretty illegal in the state of California, but she and my older brother, Kendall, didn't need to bring it up every five minutes. At one point, Kendall had even threatened to have James sued for sleeping with a minor, even though it had happened ages ago. That had _not_ been a fun conversation, needless to say.

"Did you really think Kendall and I would be happy to hear that you were sleeping with James at sixteen?"

"I didn't think you and Kendall would find out. And this isn't the place to talk about – we're in a _police_ station, where it's their job to arrest people for breaking the law."

"Fine."

A moment later, one of the officers walked over to us. "Mrs. Knight and Miss Knight? Chief Flanders is ready for you now."

We got to our feet and followed the officer to the chief's office. We walked in and sat down in the chairs opposite the chief. He sat at a huge, sturdy oak desk, with papers spread out all over it. He looked at us as we took our seats. "Thank you for making the time to come here to identify one of the victims," he said cordially to us.

"It's not a problem," Mom replied enthusiastically, as if it was her greatest dream to come down to the police station to look at pictures of dead people.

He nodded. "This will only take a minute, I promise." He reached into one of his files and pulled out a picture of the captain. Mom and I both nodded in immediate recognition.

"That's him," she said at once. "That's Captain Montgomery."

The chief sighed. "Well, all right. Thank you. Do you by any chance know his family?"

Mom and I both shook our heads.

"Well, thank you anyway. You can go."

We got to our feet and trailed out of the office, back down the hall, to the waiting room. We made our way back out to the car and climbed in.

Mom looked over at me. "So, Savvy-Mart?"

"Fine," I sighed, pushing a loose strand of brown hair behind my ear.

"You have to know sooner or later."

"I know."

"And periods usually aren't more than a week late, even if they're held up because of stress."

"I'm very aware of that," I snapped.

"Just making sure you do know that."

"I do." I sighed again, leaning against the seat's back.

Mom sighed too and started the car, before signaling out of the police station parking lot. She drove us through town, to the Savvy-Mart, where she parked. I reluctantly got out of the car, and followed her in. I tugged my black hoodie a little more tightly around me, as if shielding myself from what I was convinced were judgmental and haughty stares, even though no one glanced at me more than once.

But I could almost hear the whispers, the rumors: '_**Diamond has been seen around town with ex-band mate Kendall Knight's younger sister, Katie Knight**_…_** there have been rumors that they were involved three years ago**_…_** if evidence comes to light that his relationship was, in any way, sexual with Miss Knight, then he will be brought in front of a judge for statutory rape**_…'

At the time, James and I hadn't even considered the consequences of what we were doing. I mean, I suppose we knew, on some level, that it was illegal, but it never even occurred to us that he could get in trouble for it. I wasn't sure if the charges would be dropped if I didn't sue him, but I didn't want to risk it. We were sixteen and nineteen when we had begun our relationship, and we had been in love; or so it had seemed at the time.

Now, I wasn't sure if I had ever truly been in love with James. Was it possible to be in love with someone when you were only sixteen? Maybe it was possible with puppy love, but I doubted it was real, true love. But I hadn't mentioned that part to James. He was so sure that we had really loved each other three years ago, and that because of that, we could get our relationship back.

But I doubted it. I really did.

Mom and I headed to the female section, where all the sanitary pads and tampons and different types of contraception were laid out. I glowered at them. They were mocking me. I wouldn't be using sanitary pads and tampons for another eight months at least, and the contraception could have saved me from getting myself into this mess.

Although, if I had had any sense of self-control and restraint in the first place, I probably wouldn't have been looking at pregnancy tests.

And then there was James Diamond…

My mom and I examined each pregnancy test, and finally selected three, just for good measure. I pulled my hood up over my hair so that it curtained my face, and followed Mom to the self checkout stand, where we scanned the pregnancy tests. She threw in a couple of _Kit-Kats_ and _Hershey's Cookies n' Crème_ bars. I looked at her curiously, and she shrugged.

"If the tests come out positive, you'll doubtlessly be needing chocolate."

"Way to be positive, Mother," I mumbled, but nevertheless bagged the chocolate bars with the tests. I slipped the plastic bag into my purse, and we headed back out to the car.

"So…home?" Mom asked. "Back to James' place, I mean?"

I nodded. "Please? James will probably be home from the studio soon."

"All right," she agreed, and changed lanes, heading in the direction of James' house.

As she drove, I sent him a quick text: **We identified Captain Montgomery & we're on our way back to your place. You there yet?**

It took a few minutes for him to text back: **Literally just pulled into the driveway. And I keep telling you, it's your place too.**

I shook my head. I really did care for him, I really did, and I really did love him, but I was still haunted by our past. It had been a little easier to forget and forgive about it when we had been on the DLS-S Cruise, when we were positive we were going to die. We had been roomed together, and the fact was, we had never gotten closure from our sudden and forced breakup. Feelings and hormones had quickly gotten out of hand, and we had ended up sleeping together…repeatedly…by the hour…Plus, even though our bathroom cabinets had been _graciously_ stalked up with condoms and such, we had never actually made it into the bathroom to grab them.

Definitely very heated exchanges…

Mom pulled up in front of James' house about five minutes later. She parked on the curb, and leaned over to hug me and kiss my forehead. "Whatever happens, you'll be okay," she told me firmly. "You and James both. I strongly believe that you will get through this. Lots of luck, and let me know what the tests say as soon as you can, okay?"

I nodded, my eyes blurring slightly. I wasn't sure exactly why there was a sudden lump in my throat, but I had a feeling that it had to do with her being so nice and supportive. I was just beginning to truly realize how lucky I was to have a mother like her.

"I love you," I choked out, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"I love you too, sweetie," she said gently. She passed me a tissue and kissed my forehead again. "Good luck."

"Th-thanks." I took a moment to compose myself, and then I grabbed my purse and climbed out of the car.

James' black Dodge Challenger, which he had bought the day after we had returned to LA, was sitting in the driveway. James had offered to buy me a car, any car I wanted, but I had turned him down. It was bad enough I was living with him and sleeping in his bed with him; I didn't want to throw a car into the mix.

You guys probably hate me right now, and I wouldn't blame you in the least. You're probably all going "Well, if you aren't in love with him and aren't sure you want to be with him, then why are you living with him and sleeping with him? Turning down his car doesn't exactly make you a saint." The thing is – and this isn't going to make me sound any better – I don't know how I feel about him. I mean, I can't imagine not being with him, but at the same time, what happened in our past does hurt. He dumped me harshly three years ago, and even though it turned out that it was to protect me while keeping himself out of jail, to this day it still stung. It wasn't something I could get past easily, no matter how badly I wished I could.

But once again, I couldn't deny that there was a part of me – a huge part – that just wanted to forget what had happened, that loved him more than anything else in the world. It was too bad that the smaller, grudge-holding part was so strong.

I made my way up the driveway to the double doors of his house – well, practically a mansion; he was, after all, a famous pop star and movie star – and pulled out my key from my purse. I got the doors opened, and waved to my mom, before slipping into the entrance hall.

James' house looked just like every guy's dream bachelor pad – lots of black and white and chrome _everywhere_. It was a bit like living in an auto parts store, to be completely honest.

To be fair, ever since I had moved in with him, he had been adding touches of other colors – there were red roses on the front hall table, blue and green cushions on the couch in the living room, and he had switched out his black and white checkered bedding for soft gold. He was talking about redecorating the entire house so that I would feel more comfortable in it, but I still wasn't sure how long I was going to stay with him. Although if I was pregnant…

I gulped at the thought as I closed the doors shut behind me.

"Katie?" I heard James call from upstairs.

"Yeah, it's me," I replied.

"I'm in the bedroom," he told me, and I gripped my purse a little more tightly as I mounted the stairs. I headed up to the room, my heart beginning to pound. The moment of truth was growing closer…

The bedroom door was open and James was sitting at his desk, scrolling through a home designer webpage. He smiled when he saw me, and I couldn't help but give him a smile back.

He held out his arm, and I walked across the room so that he could wrap his arm around my waist. He reached up to peck my lips. "You got everything taken care of at the police station?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And…um…my mom and I stopped by Savvy-Mart."

"How savvy of you," he cracked, and I let out a reluctant giggle. Damn him for having such an infectious smile and just downright being charming. It wasn't fair. No wonder I couldn't let him go, not when he was everything I could ever want.

"So," he continued on, "what'd you get?"

Biting down on my lip, I opened my purse and pulled out the plastic bag. I shrugged out of my hoodie and tossed it on the bed, feeling young and tiny and vulnerable in my jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers, my brown hair falling down my shoulders. I was sure my eyeliner and mascara was smudged, and my lip gloss had long since been chewed off. I wasn't old enough for this. I wasn't an adult. I was just a scared, little nineteen year old girl who had tried to play grown up and had failed at it.

James spun the chair around to face me, watching me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a picture of us on his desk. It had been taken not too long after we had gotten together. Our arms were around each other, and we were smiling happily at each other, not a care in the world.

I wanted nothing more than to go back to that moment, to freeze time forever and ever, but this wasn't a fantasy novel. This was real life, and James and I had to face our consequences. And besides, I reminded myself, there was always the chance that I wasn't pregnant. My period might have simply been late because of how stressed and traumatized I had been. There was still that hope, still that possibility, and I was clinging desperately to it.

Not for long though…

James looked at me expectantly. "Katie-Bear?"

My eyes closed in response to the childhood nickname. I heard him get up from the chair and walk over to me, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me gently to him.

"Sweetie?" he gently nudged me. "What's wrong?"

I pulled back, biting my lip again. I reached into the plastic bag and retrieved the pregnancy tests.

James stared at them, still not letting go of me. "I – I wondered…I mean, we never really talked too much about the possibility and you didn't say anything about it…I thought maybe you weren't…after all…"

I shook my head. "I'm late, James. My period's two weeks late, and I'm _never_ late. And my mom kept telling me that I had to find out, so…"

"Okay. It's going to be okay," he said, holding me tightly. "When're you going to take the test?"

"N-now, I guess," I answered, my voice shaking.

"Okay." He kissed my forehead and released me. I grabbed one of the tests and stumbled into the bathroom. I did what I needed to, before laying it on the counter and opening the door. James stepped in.

"We just – we have to wait," I told him, my stomach clenching and unclenching in a rapid pattern.

"Okay." He put his arms around me, holding me against his body. "Whatever happens, I won't leave you, I promise."

I managed to nod, my eyes never leaving the test.

At last, it beeped.

James and I both paused, and his grip tightened on me. I glanced at him, and he looked back at me, face pale and eyes wide with fear. And suddenly I had to be the adult, if just for a few seconds. But it reminded me that I wasn't the only one who was terrified here, who's life would change drastically if the pregnancy test said that I was positive. James had just said that he would stay with me, and if there was one thing I was sure about, it was that he wasn't going to abandon me now. We were in this together, and we could get through this.

That thought propelled me forward. I snatched up the test and looked down at it.

My heart came to a jarring halt, and then it began thumping rapidly, my stomach churning like the ocean during a storm.

James looked at me, eyes widening even more.

I opened my mouth, and croaked out, "It's – it's positive. I'm pregnant."

There was a long moment of silence as we both took in what I had just announced.

"Um…oh…okay…" James took a deep breath. "Okay then. Okay. We're going to be parents. Okay. Well…um…" he let me go and began pacing around the bathroom, running his fingers through his chestnut hair, face even whiter than it had been before. "Um…Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?" he spun around to face me, looking like he was trying not to panic.

I blinked up at him, still doing my best to get the fact that I really was pregnant through my head. "Oh…um…I don't know…either one…um…" I put my hand to my forehead, leaning against the sink. James grabbed me.

"Are you okay? Do you feel faint? Is it the baby?"

I stared at him. "No…just in shock…The baby's fine, as far as I know…"

"Okay. Do you need anything? Water? Pickles? Chocolate? Can you have chocolate when you're pregnant? Are you craving pickles? Can I get you anything? What do you need?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I almost started laughing. "James, I'm only about a month pregnant. Not really craving anything yet. And yes, I'm pretty sure I can have chocolate. In fact, my mom got me some chocolate bars. Although," I chuckled, "I think you need them more than I do right now."

"Why are you laughing?!" he yelped. "You're carrying a baby inside of you! A little life! This is serious business!"

My chuckled turned into a full-fledged laugh. "Because you're freaking out about this more than I am. James, calm down." I put my hands on his shoulders and steered him to the toilet, pushing him down on the closed seat. "Take a deep breath. You're the one who just told me we'd be okay. We'll get through this together. This isn't the end of the world. We almost experienced the end of the world, and it wasn't anything like this. Jamie-Bear." He blinked at me, and I smiled at him, climbing into his lap and straddling him, winding my arms around his neck. "Jamie-Bear…I need you here with me, I need you to stay focused. So, no freaking out. No panicking." I brushed my lips over his. "I'm going to need you more than anything now, and I need you to keep calm. Can you do that?"

He nodded.

"Good. Thank you." I pecked his lips. "We'll make whatever this is between us work. We have to, for the baby's sake."

"For the baby's sake," he agreed. "But, Katie…I do love you. I _am_ in love with you."

"I know you are," I told him as I climbed out of his lap. "I love you too." I held out my hand and helped him to his feet. He wrapped an arm around my waist, his hand lightly pressing against my stomach.

"And there's a baby in there?"

I nodded. "Yeah, there is."

"That's so cool. We created a baby!" he beamed at me, looking like a little kid who was presenting his mother with a family portrait he had drawn in his kindergarten class.

I smiled back, pecking his lips again. The initial shock and fear was already wearing off, and I was beginning to get excited with James. We created a baby…how cool was that?!

We walked back into the bedroom, his arm still around me, just as our phones went off simultaneously. We both froze at once, our bodies tensing. The last time our phones had gone off together had been the last text _he_ had sent to us…

I stepped away from James and pulled my phone out of my purse, as he grabbed his own phone from the nightstand.

I looked over at him, and he looked back at me, his expression mirroring the terror that was already pooling in my stomach.

I opened the text message, and felt myself sink down onto the bed, James falling down beside me: **A Jatie baby, how lovely. What a beautiful, wonderful creation it will be – if it ever makes it to birth, that is. Remember James and Katie, you're never safe, not as long as I'm still alive. –The Replacement.**

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**_Whew, first chapter completed! *Wipes imaginary sweat from forehead*. How was that? Sorry, I know it's slow and probably really boring, but hopefully you guys are okay with the lack of action for the time being...? *Blinks hopefully*_  
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**_Anyway, show the review button some love and let me know if you liked it and what you thought of it :) Love you guys!_**


	2. Chapter 2: We're Just Getting Started

_**I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up! In my defense, I got busy with school and family and friends, but still. No excuses for making you guys wait like this.**_

_**Disclaimer: Owning Big Time Rush would be pretty incredible. Unfortunately, it's also pretty impossible for most people. So yeah, I don't own Big Time Rush.**_

_**Oh my gosh you guys! Fifteen reviews for the first chapter?! That's pretty effing amazing! I love you guys so much! And thank you for waiting so patiently! I hope you guys like this chapter :)**_

_**Warnings: Ahhh...the usual warnings: Language, underage drinking, emotional angst, The Replacement, and general creepiness.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

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**Chapter Two: We're Just Getting Started**

**James' POV**

Well…fuck. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_, FUCK,_ FUCK_!

He was back. The Replacement was back. The Replacement was back, and there was going to be trouble. Naturally. What else had we expected? Had we honestly thought we were safe from him? We had known he was alive, we had known he had a vendetta against us. He had informed us that he would be haunting us. This nightmare wasn't over, but we had still managed to get ourselves lulled into a false sense of security. How the hell had that even happened?!

I knew why. He hadn't done anything. He had laid low, let us slowly forget about him. And then he had struck, threatening Katie's and my baby. What an evil, horrible, awful thing to do.

My fists clenched, and my head felt like it was spinning. Who the _fuck_ did The Replacement think he was, threatening Katie's and my baby?! And not just that, but if he was threatening the baby, then he was threatening Katie as well, because she was the one carrying the baby!

Oh no he did not.

"James?" Katie piped up, sounding timid. "James? Are you okay?"

I sprung to my feet. "I'll fucking murder him."

"No! James, you don't even know where he is!"

"He was around here somewhere. He knew, Katie, he knew. He was watching."

"I know, James, I know. But there's nothing we can do about it."

"Nothing we can do?! Katie, we're in LA, not on that fucking ship anymore! There's plenty we can do! We can go to the cops. We can get security. We're not going to let him get away with threatening you and the baby! We're not helpless anymore." I dropped to my knees in front of her. "And I'm not going to let him hurt you. We're not going to go through that hell again. This time, it's going to be over. This time, there will be no next time."

Katie stared at me, mouth hanging open a little.

Without a word to her, I pushed myself back to my feet and grabbed my phone, dialing Gustavo's number. He answered on the second ring.

"What do you want, dog?" he growled.

"Nice to hear your voice too. Katie and I just heard from The Replacement. We need security around our place, stat."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." I hung up and looked back at Katie. "Gustavo's going to help. We'll be okay, Katie. The Replacement's henchmen are dead, he's all alone. He's not going to win, we won't let him."

She nodded, looking up at me. For the first time in three years, there was trust and true love in her eyes, and I almost sank to the floor in relief. We were going to be okay. We had to be.

I wasn't going to lie; I'd been terrified for the last three weeks that she would walk out the front door and never look back. I kept on getting the feeling that she didn't really want to be here. And yeah, I'll admit, there was a huge part of me that was wondering whether the only reason she was staying was for the baby's sake. I knew she loved me. I just wasn't sure she was _in love_ with me. More often than not, I wondered whether she had managed to fool herself into believing it when we had been trapped on the DLS-S Cruise ship. We had known, before we had even managed to escape, that there was a fairly good chance that she might have been pregnant. It would make sense for her to want to stay close to the baby's father.

But the truth was, I didn't want to know if she was only here because of the baby. I wanted more than anything to believe, if just for a little while, that she was here because she wanted to be, because she still wanted to be with me, that she had really, truly forgiven me.

A month and a half ago, I wasn't sure I would ever see her again. And now here she was, pregnant with my kid. I had gotten a second chance with her. Fine, so it had been granted at the hands of a lunatic psycho who made Norman Bates look like he simply had a fixation with knives. But I had gotten the chance nonetheless, and I was going to use it to repair my relationship with Katie. I wasn't going to fuck this up, not when I finally had her back. Maybe I didn't have her completely, but it was a good start. Better than nothing, at the very least.

True to his word, Gustavo posted several body guards around my property, and he called in a home security team to update my burglar alarms. I didn't mention to him that The Replacement had managed to get past the alarms a month ago, in order to leave a note and a picture of Katie on my bed. I was hoping that the only reason he had managed to get in here in the first place was because he had had Griffin's and Snake's help.

But then again, I had been pretty bad about turning on my alarms – I always forgot. Probably The Replacement had watched me enough to know that he could get in and out of my house without too much difficulty. He could have picked the locks or had a skeleton key made…

I jumped to my feet from where I had been sitting at the kitchen table, watching Katie as she sipped from a mug of chamomile tea and nibbled on one of her candy bars. She blinked at me. "What's wrong?"

"I need to get the locks changed. The Replacement might have a skeleton key, it's probably how he got in here last time."

"Last time?"

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you? He left a note and a picture of you on my bed the night he sent me the invitation."

"Oh." She furrowed her brow. "You probably did and I blanked on it."

I shrugged and instead hurried out of the kitchen, to the front hall, where the workmen were installing in the new security alarm.

"Do you guys have the number for a good locksmith?" I asked.

They all gave me weird looks, as if they thought updating my burglar alarm would be sufficient safety, but one of them gave me the name of one anyway.

"Thanks." I immediately began looking online on my phone. I found his number quickly, and gave him a call.

An hour and a half later, the burglar alarm was set, and the locks were being changed.

"Do you really think burglar alarms and new locks are going to keep The Replacement out?" Katie asked me, still sitting at the kitchen table.

"No. That's why we have security guards – "

" – Who can be killed."

"Well, what else can we do? I'm doing the best I can, Katie."

She pursed her lips, and I waited for the crack, for the "Well, your best obviously isn't good enough" remark. It never came. Instead, she sighed and dropped her head into her hands.

"I know you are. And you're doing a good job. But I'm scared. I'm terrified, actually. He'll figure out a way to get to us, I know he will."

"Yeah, but this time we actually have people on our side, and we have some idea what we're up against. We were blindsided before. This time, we're going to fight back, and we're going to win."

"I guess…"

"I'm not going to let him kill you or the baby, Katie. I love you too much to let that happen. I'd rather die than see you hurt." And with that statement, I got to my feet once more, and headed out to see how the locks were doing.

It was almost nine-thirty by the time the locksmith and his team left the premises. Katie had disappeared upstairs somewhere around seven, but I had stayed downstairs to supervise everything.

Once everyone had cleared out, I headed up the stairs. I found Katie curled up on the bed in our room, clutching a thermos of tea. There was a plate on the nightstand with breadcrumbs scattered on it. She was watching _Titanic_, of all things, with tears streaming down her face.

"Hey," I said softly, knocking on the doorframe before walking into the room.

"H-hi," she hiccupped out, brushing at her tear-stained cheeks.

"_Titanic_?"

She nodded. "I got a sudden craving for it."

"A craving for the movie or for a young Leonardo DiCaprio?" I teased gently. When she was younger, she had had a massive crush on him – well, either on him, or his character, Jack. I had never quite figured that out. She wasn't a diehard Leo DiCaprio fan by any means, but she loved him in this movie. It was one of her favorites; it was her go-to movie for when she was sad, which honestly had never made any sense to me. There was a reason why you needed a box of Kleenex next to you when you were watching it.

She half giggled, half hiccupped. "The movie. And for Jack. It's kind of funny, but he almost reminds me of you."

"I'm honored."

"He was just so nice and helpful and did the best he could with what he had. He reminded me of you today."

"Oh."

She nodded, taking another sip of her tea, another tear streaking down her face.

"What's in the thermos?" I asked, a little suspiciously.

She looked at me innocently. "Tea."

"What kind of tea?"

"The kind of tea that you make with teabags."

I walked over to her and held out my hand. "The thermos, please."

She blinked at me. "W-what do you want it for?"

"I want to see what kind of tea."

"Nah uh. Mine."

"Katie, the thermos. _Now_."

She gaped at me for a moment, before handing it to me. I took a cautious sip and almost choked.

"What the hell did you put in this?!" I yelped. It was _Earl Grey_ tea, with a sharp edge that was most certainly alcohol.

"Not sure. I found a bottle of booze in one of the cabinets in your kitchen. Thought I'd try it out and see what it was like."

I eyed her. Except for the crying and hiccupping and her waaay too nonchalant attitude, she seemed relatively sober. I uncapped the thermos and let out a small sigh of relief. It was two-thirds of the way full.

"Well, this is getting dumped," I announced, turning for the door.

"Aww, why?" she whined. "Didn't you like it?"

"Not particularly. And you're pregnant," I reminded her, turning back to face her. "You're not supposed to drink alcohol."

"Pfft." She snorted. "That's a myth."

"First time I've heard of it being a myth," I scoffed back.

"Can't I drink a little more?"

"No. No you can't. We're not risking the baby's health, Katie. You're the one who told me you needed me there with you. Well, the same goes for you. I need you to stay strong and take care of yourself. You're the one carrying our baby – "

"Because I'm the girl. You don't have the right parts." Her eyes slid down my face, past my chest and stomach, to my crotch. She licked her lips.

I shook my head. "I'm aware of that. And I'll do everything I can to help you, but I need you to _want_ to stay healthy."

"It was just mixed tea," she whined.

"And you're already slightly tipsy. You're not a drinker, Katie, you never were."

"Things can change in three years," she snipped back.

"I know that."

"Maybe if you'd just called…"

"I'm not doing this right now," I retorted. "Not when you're like this."

"What? Afraid I'll say something you won't like?"

_Yes_. "No. But you're not in a good frame of mind right now."

"Well, at least I'm not a man whore who knocked up his teenaged ex-girlfriend," she mocked.

My grip tightened on the thermos, and I spun back around, dashing out the door and down the stairs. Once I reached the kitchen, I dumped the tea down the sink drain and rinsed out the thermos, before washing it out, trying to get my thoughts in order.

_At least I'm not a man whore who knocked up his teenaged ex-girlfriend_…

Ouch. That one had hurt. And something told me it wasn't being called a man whore that bothered me.

_Ex-girlfriend_…She had used the _E_ word. What a way to remind me that we still weren't together. I guess I really had been fooling myself into thinking that our relationship was slowly getting repaired, that we could be together again. We were nothing but exes, nothing at all. And apparently she didn't want to change that.

And obviously even the baby wasn't going to be enough to keep her around. One morning, I would wake up and she would be gone.

My legs gave out from under me and I sank to the floor, my head in my hands as I fought back tears. I loved her more than anything, but she wasn't capable of feeling the same. She didn't love me, and nothing I said or did could change that.

My phone beeped, and I pulled it out without even thinking, opening up the next text: **It must be absolutely heartbreaking to know that she's only staying with you because of the baby. If the test had been negative, she would've left tonight. You can't keep her, no matter how hard you try; she doesn't love you like you love her, and you know it's true. But by all means, continue to protect her. After all, you've already lost her – the only thing you have left to lose is your life. –The Replacement.**

He always did have impeccable timing. Just when you felt like you couldn't get much lower, he would send out a text that would make you want to go and slit your wrists. He was a master at tormenting people, at playing off of their fears, and he was so in-your-face that it was nearly impossible to ignore it.

I had no idea what I was going to do…

I finally managed to get to my feet, and I headed up the stairs. Katie was still on the bed, burrowed under the covers.

"I'll sleep in one of the guest rooms," I announced as I grabbed a pair of sweats from my dresser.

She looked over at me. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy, but her expression was unreadable.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face before making my way to the guestroom. I changed into the sweatpants and pulled back the covers. I slipped into the cold bed, sighing. I had wanted to give Katie her space. It wasn't fair to force her to sleep in the same bed with me if she didn't want to. Maybe in the morning we could work out a different arrangement…

I sighed again, my heart clenching and my chest literally aching. Nothing could hurt more than unrequited and lost love…

I guess I deserved it, after breaking up with her in such a harsh way. But I had thought I had at least made up for it a little bit. But I guess making up for something and actually earning someone's forgiveness and love aren't always the same thing.

I finally drifted off, clutching my pillow tightly and wishing that it was Katie who I was holding.

I awoke about an hour later to the sound of a rustling down in the kitchen. It sounded like someone was opening up cabinets. I sighed. It was probably Katie, looking for a late night snack. If it wasn't…But then I heard soft footsteps on the stairs, and knew it was her.

I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head, trying to get back to sleep.

I must have drifted off again, because the next thing I knew, a small, soft body was being pressed against mine, and I could feel slim fingers running down my bare chest.

I sighed, rolling over to face Katie.

"What're you doing in here?"

She hiccupped, and when she spoke, it was slurred and stuttered: "I miiiisssed yooou."

I winced, smelling alcohol on your breath. "Katie, you're drunk."

"Iiii feelllt baaaad 'boout what I saaiiid."

"That's nice," I said as patiently as I could. "We'll talk in the morning, okay, baby girl?"

She shook her head. "You haaaate me now."

"I don't hate you, I could never hate you."

"You dooo. I h-h-huuurrt your feelings." She looked at me sadly, letting out a tiny hiccup.

I sighed, wrapping my arms around her. I couldn't stay mad at her for very long when she was being so adorable. It just wasn't possible. "Katie, you could probably bash me over the head with a shovel and steal all my money and I still wouldn't be capable of hating you."

She looked down. "Y-y-you – " hiccup " – said you'd die f-f-for – " another hiccup " – for me, and I c-c-called you a m-m-man – " a third hiccup " – wh-wh-whooorre."

I stroked her hair. "It's okay."

"N-n-nooo, it's not. I was a – a – a B-word!"

I almost busted out laughing. "You mean a bitch?"

She looked at me reproachfully. "S-s-sweeeaaar words aren't nice."

"Neither is stealing other people's booze to get drunk," I chuckled.

She dropped her head again. "Yooou're right. I'm an awful p-p-person." She hiccupped out the last word.

I laughed. "You're not awful, sweetie. You're human."

"O-o-okaaay…" She let out a yawn and snuggled into me, resting her head on my chest. "L-l-loooove you, Jamie-Bear."

I smiled a little. "Love you too, Katie-Bear."

Maybe there was hope for us after all…

I awoke the next morning to Katie still using my chest as a pillow. I sighed, figuring that she'd probably one hell of a hangover. I gently rolled her off of me and got out of bed, heading downstairs to grab a bottle of water, and then into the bathroom off our bedroom to grab some _Tylenol_. I hurried back to the guest bedroom. Katie was waking up, and clutching her head.

I shook my head, but passed her the water bottle, and tapped a couple of pills into my palm. I passed them to Katie and she swallowed them, chasing them down with the water. She took a few more sips of water, before setting the water bottle down on the nightstand beside the bed, and laid back down, closing her eyes.

"I'll be downstairs," I told her. She opened her eyes, and looked at me.

"No, stay," she croaked.

I crawled back onto the bed with her, and she cuddled into me. Within seconds, her breathing had evened out, and I knew that she was sound asleep. I closed my eyes, listening to her soft breath. Before long, I was drifting off…off…and away…

When I awoke next, I was all alone. I sat up, running my fingers through my hair, and trying to ignore the way my heart was pounding erratically. Did Katie leave? Did she run away? Or…

There were sounds from downstairs, and I relaxed a little. I crawled out of bed and glanced at the clock. It was early afternoon, and the sun was streaming in through the bedroom window.

I went on downstairs and sure enough, Katie was in the kitchen. She had a bowl of soup in front of her and was slowly eating. She looked up at me as I entered the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?" I asked as I pulled out a bottle of chocolate milk. Don't judge, I'm addicted to that stuff, okay?

"For…for everything. For what I said last night about you being a man whore. For acting irresponsibly. For getting drunk. I was acting like a spoiled, self-centered brat, and all you were trying to do was help me."

I didn't say anything to that. Instead, I just opened the bottle and took a swig of chocolate milk.

"I'm still angry," she said quietly. "For what happened three years ago."

"So I've noticed."

"But – the thing is – I do care for you and I do love you. When you almost died on the ship…I don't know if you remember, but I was hysterical. The thought of losing you…it was just too much. And then you survived…But…"

"But?" I prodded her.

"I was so relieved. But things aren't like they used to be. You can't change the past, James."

"I know that. I'm just trying to make up for it. That's all I can do."

She sighed. "I know. I want to be able to get past this. I do. But I was bitter and angry for so long that it's difficult."

"Do you even want to be here?" I asked her quietly.

She looked down at her bowl of soup. "I – yeah – of course."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not – "

"You are. Don't try to protect my feelings. You may love me, but you're not _in_ love with me. I'm not what you want anymore."

Katie looked back up at me. "Don't say that. It's not true."

"You're only here because of the baby."

She didn't say anything to that.

I sighed and headed out of the kitchen. She got up and followed me out.

"I do love you."

"But do you want to be with me?"

"I can't imagine being with anyone else."

"That's not answering the question," I said shortly. "Just tell me the truth, Katie. Don't sugarcoat it."

There was a long pause, and then she said plainly, "I don't know what I want. I thought I did, on the DLS-S Cruise, but now I don't. The circumstances changed."

Another pause.

"Okay," I said quietly. "Okay. Um…I have to go. I have to go to the studio."

"James – "

"I'll be home in a few hours."

"But – "

I didn't give her a chance to say anything else. Instead, I just grabbed my keys and wallet and headed out to my car. I got in, started it, and made my way to the studio. Some angsty song writing would do me good.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

The front door slammed behind James, and a moment later I heard his car start up.

I collapsed onto the couch, my body beginning to shake even before the sobs hit me, before the tears reached my eyes. Within seconds, I was crying like I had just lost the love of my life. And maybe in a way I had.

I couldn't get the look on his face out of my head when I had told him I didn't know what I wanted. The way his face crumpled. How his eyes saddened. The downward curve of his lips. I had broken his heart the way he had broken mine three years ago, but at least he had had a halfway decent excuse – he had been getting blackmailed by his boss, Arthur Griffin. It had been either break up with me, or Griffin would expose our relationship to the world.

I was willing to bet that Griffin and The Replacement had been in cahoots already at that point in time. The Replacement had managed to snap pictures and at least one video of James and me in bed, and Griffin more than likely would have used them to sell us out.

I buried my head in my hands, continuing to cry until I was all cried out.

Once my sobs had subsided, I forced myself to my feet and began to walk around the house, checking out the locks and making sure the alarm system was working properly. Around 6:30, I started dinner. I had never been much of a cook, but I needed something to keep my hands busy until James got home. And when he did, I was going to apologize and grovel and cry some more if need be. James had more than made up for what he had done, and it was beyond unfair of me to hold it against him. He had punished himself enough with his guilt as it was. He didn't need any more of it coming from me.

I followed a basic recipe for chicken fettuccine, one of James' favorite dishes, and tossed together a salad.

The evening passed by slowly, and he never showed.

I texted him, but he didn't respond.

I bit my lip, pacing back and forth through the living room. Surely he would let me know if he was going away. He had said he'd be home…

I texted Kendall, Logan, and Carlos, but they hadn't heard from him either. I tried Camille, Jo, and Stephanie as well, but he hadn't contacted them either. Next I tried Gustavo, but he told me that James had left the studio forty-five minutes earlier. It was only a twenty minute drive to and from Rocque Records.

My stomach was in knots now. I had a bad feeling…

I was jolted out of my thoughts by my phone going off. I snatched it up and looked at the Caller ID. LA PD…

With a sinking heart, I put the phone up to my ear. "Hello…?"

"Is this Katie Knight?" asked a young, male voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I am."

"I'm Officer Lawrence with the PD LA. You know James Diamond?"

Who the hell was he? Had he not seen all the tabloid rags lately?

"Yeah, I know him."

"I'm sorry to report, but he has been in a car accident."

My grip on the phone tightened. "W-what?"

"He collided with another car. Or, well, apparently another car collided with him."

"Oh my God…Is he – is he okay?"

"He's being taken to Palm Tree Hospital. He appears to be unconscious. As for other injuries, I'm not sure."

"Oh my God, oh my God…" my throat was closing up, my throat was pounding loudly, my lungs were sizing up. "Oh my God…"

"Miss? Miss? Are you all right?" the cop asked me.

"I'm – yeah – how did you get my number?"

"We found it in his emergency contact list on his phone. You were number one."

"Okay…um…thank you…Oh my God…" I hung up without another word, pacing the room once again.

Once I was about to get my breathing under control, I sent out a group text to our friends, my brother and mom, Gustavo, and Kelly: **James was in a car accident. He's at the Palm Tree Hospital. The cop told me he's unconscious, but he didn't know anything else.**

I collected my purse and jacket, and was halfway out the door before I swallowed and realized my throat was dry and prickly, like a cactus sweltering in the sun. Shock. I had gone into shock. I wasn't sure if emotional shock would dry my throat out, but I didn't really care too much.

I rushed back into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and noticed the food sitting out. I uncapped the water and gulped about half of it down, before putting the food in the fridge.

I headed for the door once more.

Before I reached it, however, my phone buzzed with a new text. The knots in my stomach tightened. I had a pretty good idea who this text was going to be from…

**Your poor boyfriend…He tells you he'd die for you, and you call him a man whore. He shows how much you love him, and you say you don't know if you love him back. And then **_**BAM**_**! Right in a car crash. A hit and run…You should've seen James' car spinning out of control. Oh wait, you can.**

A second later, another text made its way through. I opened it and found myself staring at a video. It looked like the camera had been set up on a car's dashboard, since the windshield stretched out in front of me. The car crossed several lanes, speeding towards another car…a black Dodge Challenger. There was a crash, and both cars collided. The Challenger was sent spinning furiously through an intersection, tipping dangerously on its right wheels, before crashing onto the passenger side. And then the camera's view was backing up away from it, and I heard the roar of the offending car's engine as it sped away. The camera jerked slightly, and I caught sight of a black, gloved hand gripping the steering wheel.

My phone buzzed again, and I numbly opened the new text: **You really think you're safe, Katie? No one's going to be able to protect you from me, just like no one can protect James. Face it, Katie-Bear, the ball's in my court. The car crash was just to begin with. The stakes are raised. You escaping from me was a fluke. This time, you're not escaping. By the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging for me to kill you. Let's just hope James will be able to eat that chicken fettuccine before it goes bad. Hopefully I didn't do too much damage. What a shame it'd be if he had to be put out of his misery before the games even began. –The Replacement.**

* * *

**_Soooo...what'd you guys think? Sorry if Katie and James both seem all over the place...It's probably because they are. But in their defense, they've got a lot going on. Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I hope you forgive me for getting it up later than I usually get second chapters for stories up. And it'd be great to hear your thoughts and feelings on this chapter :) The review button appreciates it, and so do I :)_  
**

**_On another note, Jatieluv and I found another site for our stories: ArchiveOfOurOwn. Our account is under "JatieFantasy", and we have the first chapter of "Addicted" up on it. I also joined, and I'm beginning to move my stories over there as well. If you, for some reason, want to check out my account, you can find me under "ScienceFantasy93". You can also find me on twitter: ScienceFantasy1. Oh, and Jatieluv and I have a joint twitter for JatieFantasy as well. It's very simply: JatieFantasy. And the poll on our FF page is still up as well, so if you haven't already, check that out! :)_**


	3. Chapter 3: The Warning

_**Wow, I'm finally up with chapter three!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Big Time Rush.**_

_**THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! I appreciate it so much!**_

_**Warnings: Language, mentions of violence, and stalking**_

_**I'm doing my best to get each of my stories updated before too much time has passed, but it's a little tricky, especially since I have four stories up right now. So I'm sorry if I take awhile for the different stories, I'm trying not to, but I'm already falling behind. I really hope you'll all be able to be patient with me with my stories, and I really am sorry for the delays.**_

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Warning**

**Katie's POV**

I managed to make it out the door, to my car. Feeling like I was sleepwalking, I climbed in and started it, going through the motions of putting my seatbelt on and checking my mirrors, before shifting the car into reverse and backing out of the driveway. I managed to navigate through traffic, just aware enough to not crash into the car in front of me at a stoplight.

I checked my phone again for any new texts. The others had all responded to my group text, saying that they were on their way, and I let out a deep breath. At least the others would be there. That was the most I could ask for at this point.

There was a sudden onslaught of honking behind me, and I jolted back to reality, out of an hour's past, where The Replacement did his very best to kill James.

I slammed my foot down on the accelerator before I even realized that the light had changed to green. I flew through the intersection, checking on all sides to make sure no car was heading towards me from the wrong direction. After what happened to James on his way home from the studio, I wasn't taking any chances.

I somehow managed to get to the hospital, where I zoomed into a space and parked, shutting the car off. I sat there, shaking and breathing forcefully through my mouth, fighting back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me, to suffocate me.

James…

Was he even just unconscious now? Could he be…dead? Comatose? Something much, much worse than just simply _unconscious_?

There was a tap on the car window, and I jumped so badly that if I hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, I would have hit my head on the car's ceiling.

"Sorry," I heard Logan say muffled-ly through the window. "Didn't mean to scare you."

I unlocked the door and grabbed my purse, pushing the door open. "God, Logan, don't do that!" I admonished him, almost shrieking, as I climbed out of the car. "We have a psycho killer after us and you're going around tapping on car windows!"

"Whoa, Katie, chill," Kendall stepped towards me, holding his hands up in case he needed to hold me back for whatever reason. "He didn't mean to startle you. He just wanted your attention. You were just sitting in there, looking like you were trying not to freak out."

"And it was a little freaky to see," Carlos put in as he stepped around a couple of cars, already chowing down on what looked like a hospital corndog, wrapped partially in foil. "You're always so cool and calm and collected."

"The father of my baby was almost killed, so of course I'm freaking out!" I screeched, before shoving past them and marching towards the hospital entrance. What the hell was with them? James had almost died, could still die, and they were just standing there, acting like I didn't have a right to freak out or be scared of worried.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kendall cried as he and the others raced towards me, catching up with me easily. "A _baby_?! You're _pregnant_?!"

"You knew it was a possibility," I replied, pushing into the hospital waiting room. "You know what happened between James and me on the ship. And then there's the fact that I'm living with him. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a baby could easily enter the picture."

"I'm aware of that," Kendall replied through gritted teeth. "But what about protection?! Ever heard of the free clinic? Of a condom? Of birth control pills?"

"We messed up," I told him, my voice turning miserable and my head hanging slightly. "And we know we did."

"What're you going to do?" Carlos asked me, slinging his arm around my shoulders. "Are you keeping the baby?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The – the plan was – well, I don't know what the plan was. But I'm not sure James is going to want to be in the picture anymore. I said some things to him earlier that were…they pretty awful. And I said some things last night too. God, how stupid and insensitive could I get?!" I smacked myself in the forehead. "All he's done is try to make up for a mistake that wasn't even his fault, for the most part. And I can't let the past go. You've all done things, and James is the one I can't seem to forgive. And what he did really wasn't any worse than, say, ditching his little sister without a reasonable explanation, and then breaking all contact off." I threw a pointed look at Kendall, who shuffled his feet slightly.

"But I did have a good reason."

"Yeah, you were pissed at Mom for not telling us the truth about Dad, so you decided to leave without really explaining anything to me."

"When you put it that way, it sounds so selfish," he whined.

"That's because it was. But what James did…he did it to protect his reputation and mine. Why can't I just get past it?"

"Because you were so emotionally attached to him?" Logan suggested. "You were only sixteen, and you thought you were in love – "

"I didn't think, I knew!"

"My point is," he continued on, "James broke your heart, and it was just the foundation for a series of other disappointments. James never wanted to hurt you, but he did, and he can't take the back, no matter how hard he tries. And he knows that. He knows there's a very good possibility you're not in love with him anymore."

"I can't imagine being with anyone else," I said to Logan, my voice cracking slightly. "I just – I'm trying to sort through everything and it's all coming at me at once, and I just don't know what to do or how to handle it."

"And James understands that," he told me soothingly.

"How do you know?"

"We talk. He didn't tell me about the baby, but he told me he was afraid you were slipping away from him, that you didn't really want to be living with him."

"Oh." I looked down. "I – I don't know. I mean, I do want to live with him, but at the same time…I think if I hadn't found out I was pregnant, I probably wouldn't have stayed with him for very much longer."

"But you're staying with James now?"

"Yeah."

"Because of the baby."

I nodded. "James wants to know our baby."

"But you're not staying because you don't love him?" Carlos piped up, looking at me sadly.

"I don't know…"

"You know, he'd die for you. He almost did. The least you could do is be straight with him about how you feel."

"I was. Today. Before he left for the studio. I told him I wasn't sure what I wanted anymore."

"What'd he say to that?"

"He said he had to go to the studio…Did he really have to?" I asked the guys at large.

"I think he was planning on going in at some point this week…" Logan said slowly. "I don't really know what his plans are, we're not a boy band anymore."

I sighed, before heading up to the information counter, but before I could approach the receptionist, Kendall grabbed my arm. "We already know where he is, come on."

He was in one of those ER rooms with curtains separating the different beds. He was still unconscious, and several wires were attached to his arm, monitoring his breathing and heart rate.

My mom, Kelly, and Gustavo were all there already, but that wasn't surprising – they lived closer to the hospital then I did.

Mom immediately walked over to me and hugged me tightly. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm – I'm okay, I guess…" My eyes wandered back to James. His face was bruised and cut up, and there was a bandage wrapped around his head. "How's he – d-doing?" My voice shook slightly as I pulled back from my mom and moved closer to James.

"He's doing better. His vital signs are normal, he's just going to be out for a little while," Mom told me reassuringly.

"And damage? How hurt he is?"

"Well, a concussion…He looks pretty beaten up, and he has some bruised ribs, but I think that's about it."

"Oh, thank goodness." I sank down into an empty chair in relief. "I was so – I was so – " I couldn't even get the word out. Whatever word it was that I was going to use, anyway, because I wasn't even sure. Scared. Worried. Absolutely, totally terrified. They all worked.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Mom said to me, coming over to stroke my hair. "But he's going to be okay."

I covered my face with my hands, feeling tears begin to streak down my face, and my body began to tremor with sobs, even as I tried to muffle them and hold them back. I could feel Mom trying to wrap her arms around me, but I didn't stand up.

"It'll be okay," Mom murmured to me. "James is going to be okay. He's not going to leave you, no matter what happens."

Eventually, my sobs subsided, and I leaned back into the chair, just watching James as he laid there, chest rising and falling quietly. If it wasn't for the flecks of cuts and bruises across his face and the bandage that was wrapped around his forehead, he would have looked peaceful.

We stayed together for the next couple of hours, but eventually, Mom, Gustavo, and Kelly headed out, while Kendall, Logan, and Carlos went down to the cafeteria to stretch their legs and grab some food. I stayed with James, scooting my chair closer and taking his hand in mine.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, "I'm so sorry, James. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, I need you to believe me. I'm so mixed up and confused and scared, and I don't know what I want, but I do know that I want you. I need you, and I can't imagine trying to live my life again without you. I tried to once, and it was hell. You're everything I could ever want, and I know I need to grow up and get past what happened. You dumped me, you left me to protect us, and I need to understand that. It's just easier to hate you, I guess, to blame stuff on you, rather than admit that I can't live without you. As long as you love me, I won't leave you. I promise."

And that's when James' eyes slowly fluttered open. For a moment, he looked around, blinking, but then he turned to face me. "Katie?" he croaked out, and I burst into tears right then and there.

"What? What's wrong?" he cried, looking alarmed. "Are you okay? What is it?"

With a sob, I launched myself at him, throwing myself into his arms while kissing him deeply. He held me, a little gingerly, but kissed me back nevertheless.

At last, I pulled back, holding him tightly, still crying hard.

"For the record, I'm really confused," James spoke up after a few seconds. "What happened?"

"You were – you were in a car accident – The Replacement ran into you – you're in the hospital…You've been unconscious, and you have a concussion and bruised ribs and who knows what else?"

He slowly nodded, and then winced, hand coming up to grab his head. "Ow…"

I looked at him sadly.

"I'm okay," he assured me. "It just hurts."

"I know," I sighed.

"I remember the accident…vaguely. That was The Replacement?"

I nodded.

"Okay…And how injured am I? You mentioned a concussion and bruised ribs?"

I nodded again. "But I don't know what else you have, or if there's anything else. The doctor came in a little while ago to check on you, but he didn't say anything too interesting or too important."

"Okay." He leaned back against the pillows, closing his eyes again. I made to get off the bed, but he pulled me to him again. I closed my eyes too, and rested my head on his chest. There was silence, and I thought he had fallen back asleep, but after a few minutes, he spoke again: "I heard what you said. I was waking up and…yeah. I heard."

"Oh. Okay."

"And I get it, I understand."

"I'm sorry."

"It makes sense. And it's not your fault. A lot has happened. I was stupid to think we could go back to the way we were before Big Time Rush ended."

"You weren't. You were hopeful. And I want to be able to go back to those times, too."

"But it's not possible right now."

I shook my head. "We still have The Replacement watching our every move, and I'm pregnant. We're not sixteen and nineteen anymore. We're nineteen and twenty-two. And we need to make staying alive our number one priority."

"No," he said firmly. "Our number one priority needs to make sure that you and the baby survive."

"James – "

"I said it before, Katie. I'll die for you if I have to. I'm in love with you, that never changed, and I love our baby. If I have to die to make sure you stay alive, then so be it, that's what's going to happen. My priority is you and our baby."

"But – "

"Don't argue, because you're not going to win this," he told me stubbornly.

I let my arguments drop, but turned my face away from him as I felt a lump grow in my throat and my lower lip tremble.

James slid his fingers under my chin and turned my face back to his. "I love you, Katie-Bear. That hasn't changed, and it never will."

I nodded, even as a tear slipped down my cheek. "There's never going to be anyone else, you know. Never. It's just you, it's always been you."

"The same goes for you," he said softly as he caught my tear with his finger, and gently pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him back, another tear slipping out. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pushing closer. All I knew was that I couldn't let him die. It just couldn't happen.

* * *

**Logan's POV**

The hospital cafeteria was crowded as Carlos, Kendall, and I navigated our way through, up towards the counter.

"So…it's official," Kendall spoke up as we got in line. "The Replacement is back."

Carlos and I both nodded grimly. "And he's already tried to kill James," I added.

"And is tormenting Katie," Carlos put in, referring to the video The Replacement had sent Katie of him crashing into James' car. She had reluctantly showed it to us, and had refused to watch it with us. I couldn't say I blamed her, to be completely truthful. She had already seen it once, and one time was horrible enough.

"And Katie's pregnant with James' baby," Kendall summed up. "Well, they're doing great here."

"It's not their fault The Replacement is going after them," Carlos retorted. "Probably he's going to be going after all of us. He's just starting off with James and Katie, warming up, testing the territory. We should call the police. They can help us."

"And what if The Replacement loses his temper and takes it out on one of us? He could actually kill one of us," Kendall pointed out. "We can't risk getting the cops involved. And they can't be everywhere, anyway. The safest place for us is to be in a crowd."

"More than likely," I agreed. "But we do need to figure out a defense plan against The Replacement, otherwise we're sitting ducks."

"Agreed," Kendall said, and Carlos nodded. "And we should get the girls down here, they said they'd come down once we knew James was okay."

"I'll call Camille," I volunteered. "She can let Jo and Stephanie know."

"Okay," Kendall agreed, and I pulled out my phone, dialing Camille's phone number.

"Hey!" she answered halfway through the first ring. "What's going on? Is James okay?"

"He will be. As far as I know, he's still unconscious, but yeah, he'll be okay. Anyway, are you girls ready to come down here? Or – " I caught sight of a clock – "it's pretty late…I think visiting hours are about to end. Gustavo pulled some strings so one of us can stay with James, and I think that's going to be Katie."

"Yeah, we can figure something out later. Come home," Camille replied.

"I will. See you soon." We hung up, and I turned to the guys. "Visiting hours are just about over. We should go check on James and head home."

"You're right," Carlos nodded. "Let's do that. We can plan what we should do about The Replacement later."

So we abandoned the food line and went on upstairs to James' room. We found him awake, with Katie curled into him and his arms around her. They were talking quietly, and Katie's eyes looked red and puffy, like she had been crying.

They both looked at us when we walked in.

"You're awake!" Carlos cried, beaming.

"Yeah," James gave him a tired smile, "I'm awake."

"Dude! We were so worried, we were all freaking out, especially Katie."

Katie let out a small whine and buried her face in James' chest, clutching him tightly. He chuckled slightly and stroked her hair. He looked more happy and relaxed then I had seen him look in…well…ever. The only time he had really looked like that was when he and Katie were apparently together.

James and I had been talking in the last couple of weeks, and he had told me that those months before the band had broken up, when he was with Katie, that they were the happiest of his life.

But I could see that having Katie back, being able to hold her and knowing that she wanted him had really lit him up. And I was happy about that. He had been completely terrified that he would wake up one morning and Katie would be gone. Or that she would come home one day and tell him she had met someone else, someone who hadn't broken her heart, someone who was much smarter and a much better person than he was.

Katie was the only one who seemed to be able to bring out his insecurities. He was usually pretty confident, but she shook him on a regular basis.

"Well, we're going to head out," Kendall announced as he and Carlos took turns giving James quick hugs. I hugged him too and gave him an encouraging smile. He smiled back, and I could see a look of relief flittering across his face as Katie threw one of her legs over his so that he couldn't move away from her.

"Okay," James agreed. "Drive safe."

"We will."

Kendall, Carlos, and I walked out of the room and made our way downstairs to our different cars. I climbed into mine and did a quick check to make sure nothing was out of place in it. I buckled up and started the car, before pulling out of the parking spot.

Ten minutes later, I parked in front of Camille's house and climbed out of my car, hurrying up to the front door. The door swung open before I could even begin digging around for my key, and Camille threw her arms around me. "How is he?"

"James is awake. Katie's with him," I added as I held her securely. "We didn't really stay to talk, but he seemed okay."

"Good." She pulled back, letting out a breath of relief.

I nodded in agreement and stepped into the house, closing and locking the door behind me.

Camille dropped down onto the living room couch, and I plopped down beside her. She snuggled into me, head resting on my shoulder. I winded my arm around her waist. "So, how was your evening?"

"Quiet," she answered. "But that's probably a good thing."

"Usually is."

We headed up to bed a little while later. I conked out almost at once, but was awoken several hours later by a loud, whining siren. I sat straight up in bed as Camille threw the covers back. "That's my burglar alarm!" she cried, eyes widening. I jumped out of bed too and grabbed my hockey stick, just as there was a crash downstairs.

We peeled out of her room and down to the first floor, me swinging my hockey stick wildly.

"Logan…" Camille breathed, pointing to the middle of the living room. A brick laid there, on the floor, surrounded by shards of glass. I immediately surveyed the window – it was broken.

Camille carefully treaded around the glass and bent down. "There's a piece of paper tied to the brick."

"Of course there is," I groaned. "Of course. Why else would someone throw a brick through a window, if not to deliver a fucking message?!"

Camille deftly untied the note from the brick, and unfolded it. Her face paled, and I hurried over to her, taking the note from her. I looked down at it and saw that it was what could only be a photo shopped picture. In it, Camille was dressed all in black, and kneeling beside a grave. The tombstone was marked: _RIP Logan Mitchell: 1990-2013. He did his best to save lives when he was alive, but in the end, he couldn't save his own._

And under the picture, in a messy scrawl, were the words: _**I'm coming for you next. –The Replacement.**_

* * *

_**Wow...so, how was that? James is okay, so whoo hoo! And then there's Logan and Camille and The Replacement...**_

_**So, if you guys haven't completely given up on this story, feel free to let me know what you thought of the chapter. Reviews truly are a fanfiction writer's best friend, and I appreciate and love each and every one. :)**_


	4. Chapter 4: One Down

_**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned Big Time Rush. If I did, I'd be getting serenaded by them right now.**_

_**Guest#1: Well, I updated. Not very quickly, but here it is! Thank you for your review :)**_

_**Guest#2: Thank you so much! Yay! That's the idea :) And thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it.**_

_**THANK YOU to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! I love you guys so much :)**_

_**Okay...so...wow. I definitely did not mean to take so long to get this chapter up. I started writing it back in March, when I last updated, but then I got blocked and other things - *cough* stories *cough* - got in the way, and this got put on the back burner. I'm not going to lie, this is a story that probably won't get updated very often, but as long as you guys want me to keep writing it, I will. I have a love/hate relationship with this story, much like the one I had with "The DLS-S Cruise", which really, really sucks at times because while I love the story, writing it and getting it out can be a little bit problematic at times. But I'll do my best to keep writing it. And thank you, everyone, for being patient. I can't even begin to stress how much I appreciate it. And hey, reminding me how much you love this story is always good for inspiration so, uh, feel free to let me know ;P**_

_**So, a quick shout out to Dana2184 because she just recently posted a new Jatie story called "Family Matters", so you guys might want to check it out...;)**_

_**Warnings: Language and the usual stalker-ish antics that goes on in this story.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter :)**_

* * *

**Chapter Four: One Down**

**Katie's POV**

James was kept in the hospital the next day for observation, but the day after, he was able to be released.

I sat beside him as he signed the release papers, his left hand in my right one. The bandage had been unwrapped from around his skull, revealing a deep cut where he had hit his head. He had had to have stitches, and was on the mend now, but he still had headaches.

While James signed the papers, the doctor gave me the name of a prescription painkiller he strongly recommended for James to take. I wrote it down, planning on stopping at the pharmacy on the way back to James' and my place.

"You don't have to do all this," James said to me as we made our way out the sliding hospital doors to my car. "Seriously, I'm fine."

"Sure. Because everyone's always fine after being run down by The Replacement." I rolled my eyes. "Let me do this, James."

"But you're pregnant…"

"Yeah, but not that far along. I'll be okay."

He looked at me doubtfully, clearly hesitant, but I put my hand on his arm. "Believe me, it's not a problem."

"Well…okay…"

"Good." I helped him into the car and got in on the driver's side. We buckled up, and I got the car going. I drove to the pharmacy, on the constant alert for any sign of The Replacement, but he never made an appearance. I parked in front of the pharmacy and we headed in together, James occasionally unsteady on his feet. I kept as close to him as I could so that he could lean on me if he needed to.

We paid for the medication; once we were in the car, I turned to him. "Do you feel up to an early lunch?"

"Where'd you have in mind?" he asked me as he pulled the seatbelt over his slim hips.

"_Fun Burger_," I smiled, and he smiled as well. We had spent a lot of time at said restaurant when we were younger, before Big Time Rush broke up. I had actually had my first date there, though James had completely crashed it because he had decided to be the protective older brother. Obviously that only lasted for a few years. But when we had needed to get out of the Palmwood's apartment, we had usually walked the few blocks to _Fun Burger_ for a shake and a plate of fries. We had even gone there when we had been dating behind everyone's back. Normally we would see a movie first, and then head back to the restaurant for a late dinner.

Good times, good times.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, and I put the car in gear.

Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting in a booth across the table from each other, menus spread out in front of us.

"How long has it been since you were last here?" I asked him curiously as my eyes drifted down the page dedicated to hamburger and cheeseburger combos.

"The last time I was here was with you," he replied. "Just before everything fell apart."

"Oh." I wasn't going to lie, I was a little surprised. Since he had stayed in Los Angeles after Mom, Kendall, Logan, and I moved back to Minnesota, I had assumed he would be visiting the old haunts. It had never occurred to me that he might have avoided the places that might have reminded him of better, happier times.

Better, happier times…It sounded like something out of a Charles Dickens novel. Maybe _A Tale of Two Cities_…

"Yeah." He pressed his lips together. "So, I guess your last time here was with me?"

"Yep," I continued to scan down the page, eyeing the bacon mushroom cheeseburger. It came with a side of fries, sans salad. Perfect.

The waitress walked over a minute later to take our orders. I gave her mine and added a triple fudge brownie milkshake to the mix. _Fun Burger_ had the best milkshakes, better than any other place, _ever_. I could have lived off of them alone; I had even tried when I was thirteen, but Mom and Logan had eventually forced me to go back to eating like a normal person. According to my mom, two things would happen: I would either become completely obese, or anorexic thin, depending on my metabolism.

Mothers.

James got a triple burger with everything possible on it, along with a double chocolate milkshake; the waitress scribbled everything down and bustled off, leaving us alone once more.

James picked up the salt shaker, examining it. "Do you think you've changed in the last month?" he asked after a long moment of silence.

I blinked at him. "Um…I'm pregnant."

"I don't mean physically. I mean emotionally. Mature wise."

"Oh. Um…I honestly don't know. I guess in some ways I've changed. I'm not so mad at the world. I know what really happened. I've got my boys back. I'm slowly learning how to forgive. I'm realizing that there's always two sides to every story. I finally had to accept that I never got over you, that no matter what happened, I was still in love with you."

He didn't say anything to that; instead, he just kept turning the salt shaker over and over, being careful not to actually spill any salt on the table.

"Why do you ask?" I broached carefully.

"I was just wondering. Just thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff I did."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The waitress returned, placing our milkshakes in front of us, before hurrying away again.

I looked back at James expectantly, and he let out a sigh, before taking a sip of his milkshake.

"I'm sure you already know this, but after you and your mom and Kendall and Logan left, I went back to my old lifestyle. Partying, drinking, hooking up."

I nodded, even though the last part cut through me like a knife. I couldn't stand the thought of him being with other girls.

"It was weird, like the second I saw The Replacement's first threat, the one that was aimed at you, I got my priorities straightened out. I missed you the entire three years, though," he added. "I never stopped missing you."

I pushed my hair back, pulling it into a high ponytail. "I know, you've told me that."

"And it's true. No matter what I did or said, I never stopped loving you."

I let out a deep breath. "I know. And I forgive you for what happened."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah. Forgetting might be a little harder, but I do forgive you. Most of it was completely out of your control, and it's unfair of me to blame you for it and hold it against you."

He nodded, and I gave him a small smile as I reached across the table, lacing my fingers through his. "Don't worry about it. Come on, here comes our food now."

Sure enough, the waitress approached us a moment later, placing our food in front of us.

At least for the time being, things were going to be okay for James and me.

* * *

**Camille's POV**

"We have to do something," I said pleadingly to Logan. "Anything at this point."

He looked up at me from where he was sitting on the couch, reading one of his two million medical journals. "And what do you want to do? We don't know what The Replacement intends to do next. We're completely blind here, Cam."

"I know that," I snapped. "But he's going after _you_. We can't just stand by and wait for him to run you down with a car, or – or – whatever it is that he plans to do. We have to figure this out. And I'll be damned if I'm just going to sit on the couch, watching Showtime and eating chips, waiting for you to die!"

"Cami – "

"No, don't _Cami_ me! You have no idea what I went through when you left! You have no fucking idea! Damn it, Logan, stop with your reason and your logic and all that shit! Just do something!" I stalked over to him and yanked him to his feet. "Because I'm not going to go through losing you again. I'm not going to go through what Katie did. I was pregnant with your baby, Logan!"

He gaped at me, completely speechless, before finally remembering how to use his mouth. "W-what?"

I let go of him, shoving him away. "Forget it. Forget I said anything."

"No! What the hell? You were pregnant?! When?!"

"Three years ago. Three years ago when you left."

"What happened? Did you – I mean, you don't have a child, so…Did you have an abortion?"

I shook my head, covering my face with my hands, fighting back the tears that were threatening to overwhelm me. "N-no…I lost the baby in a car accident…"

"Oh my God…oh my God…" he breathed out.

I didn't say anything to that. Instead, I turned and made a dash for the stairs, tears now streaming down my face.

"Camille!" he hollered, chasing after me. "Camille, wait!" He caught up with me quickly, grabbing my wrist and spinning me around to face him. "Cami…Cam…" His hands cupped my face, holding me in place. "I didn't know…"

"Because I never told you. You left LA before I could break the news to you and I didn't want to do it over the phone. I was going to fly out to Minnesota to let you know but then I got into the accident…"

"God…Cami…"

"I can't go through that again," I whimpered, almost pleadingly. "I can't go through that kind of pain. Losing you would be just as bad, I know it. You can't die, Logan. We have to fight The Replacement for all it's worth. You can't just lay down and take whatever it is The Replacement is going to hurtle at us. We have to be prepared. We can run, we can get protection, we can do whatever the hell it is that we need to do. James and Katie had alarms and cameras placed all over their house and they changed the locks on their doors. We can do that, Logie. We're not helpless!"

"The Replacement got to James the second he stepped outside his house, Camille. We're not safe anywhere."

"So fucking do something about it! Don't just roll over with your legs in the air, waiting for the final blow to come! If you really love me, you'll do something about it! You'll fight and do your best to stay alive for me. Is it really that fucking hard?!"

Logan stepped back, shock crossing his face. The only time I had ever really screamed at him was when I was practicing for a role. I had a temper, but it came out quietly, sneakily; it never just busted out of me like an overfilled water balloon.

"Just do something, Logan. I'll help you, we're in this together. And the guys will help you. We'll band together like we did on the ship."

"I just…" he raked his fingers through his short, spiky hair. "I thought it was over. I thought this whole thing, this damn nightmare was over. It's like something out of a psychological thriller horror movie. We haven't had a moment's peace in ages, Cami. All The Replacement does is haunt us and torment us and stalks us and…it's just too much."

"And I get that. You think this isn't a lot for me to take in? You think I like knowing that there's some crazed psycho who isn't against killing innocent people? I still wake up screaming at night from nightmares – real memories. Memories of seeing Captain Montgomery's body, of being shot at, of just the whole fucking thing. Believe me, Logan, you're not the only one who's suffering – we all are. And the only way how we're ever going to be able to get past this if we stand up against The Replacement."

Logan finally nodded. "Okay. Okay. I'll call Gustavo and get his help."

"Okay."

Logan got on his phone, dialing Gustavo's number. He held the phone up to his ear, frowning after about thirty seconds. "It just went to voicemail…Guess he's busy – hey, Gustavo, it's Logan. Um…Cami and I were wondering if you could help us protect the house so that The Replacement can't get in…Call me back once you get this." He hung up, sighing. "Guess we just have to wait now…"

"Guess so." I sank down onto the second stair from the bottom, wrapping my arms around myself. Logan sat down beside me, slipping his own arm around my waist.

"Hey, it's going to be okay."

"Look who's suddenly oh so confident," I snapped.

Logan sighed. "Do you want to go see how James and Katie are doing?"

"Sure. Give 'em a call so that we don't accidentally walk in on anything." I shuddered.

"Will do." Logan called James and a couple of minutes later he nodded at me, hitting the _call end_ button. "Yep, we can head on over. Katie's trying to make sure that James doesn't overwork himself."

"How's he doing?" I asked as I grabbed my purse and followed Logan out of the house.

"Sounded like he's doing fine."

We drove over to James' and Katie's house, being extremely careful. This maybe wasn't the smartest thing to do since there would be four of us in one place, a perfect target for The Replacement, but it was nice to have that tiny little feeling of normalcy.

Logan parked in front of their house and we headed up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. A moment later, the door swung open. Katie stood there, her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail and dark circles under her eyes. "Hey, guys," she greeted us, giving us both a hug. "James is in the living room, watching TV."

From inside the house I could hear cusswords and shouting.

"He's watching a hockey game," Katie added as if that explained everything. "And he's not supposed to be straining himself like that…James!" she dashed into the living room with Logan and me following, closing and locking the door behind us.

James was on his feet, screaming bloody murder at the TV. "That fucking team! They're a bunch of fuckers from Pricksville! They cheated! They totally cheated!"

"Jamie, sweetie, calm down," Katie said in a would-be soothing voice as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you're not supposed to stress yourself out."

"But – but the team – "

"Will still be fuckers from Pricksville in a few days. Sit back down."

James sighed, but slowly sat down on the couch, Katie joining him. Logan and I lowered ourselves onto the couch as well and Katie and James both scooted over so that we had a little bit more room.

"So, I'm going to ask Gustavo to help us protect the house," Logan said quietly to James.

James furrowed his brow. "You haven't yet? What're you waiting for?"

"I called him but he hasn't called me back."

"Weird…he always keeps his phone on and charged..." James pulled out his phone and speed dialed Gustavo's number. After a moment he shook his head. "Damn it, I got his voicemail." He hung up, tossing his phone to the side, slumping back against the couch.

Katie patted his leg. "He's probably just busy….Want something to eat?"

James blinked. "Um…yeah, I guess."

"I could make nachos," she offered.

"You don't have to…I'll help."

"Nah, it's not a problem, you should rest."

"You should too," he argued. "You're pregnant."

"I'm not very far along. Believe me, James, I'm still capable of doing stuff."

"Yeah, but – "

"I'll help," I volunteered. "I'll make sure she doesn't too much, James."

"I – yeah – okay…" he agreed, looking a little reluctant.

I smiled at him and got to my feet, dragging Katie to hers as well. She led me into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of tortilla chips down from the top of the fridge and pulling out a baking sheet.

"There's thawed hamburger meat in the fridge," Katie told me.

I opened the refrigerator to grab it. We worked together in silence, layering the nachos before slipping them into the oven and setting the timer for five minutes.

"So, how is it being back with Logan?" Katie asked me, leaning against the counter.

"Well, it was a hell of a lot better before our window was broken last night by a brick, complete with an attached note. The Replacement is going after Logan next," I said tiredly. "I just finally got him to agree to take some sort of precautions."

"Oh, wow…Like almost killing James wasn't enough…" Katie muttered furiously. "That fucking bastard."

"I know…How's James doing?"

"He seems to be recovering. I mean, this is just his first day out of the hospital, but yeah, he's getting there. We had lunch at _Fun Burger_," she smiled a little. "Brought back some old memories."

"I bet that was nice."

"It was, it really was. You know, I spent so much time being angry with him that I completely forgot why exactly I was with him, why I loved him as much as I did – as much as I still do."

"Anger can do that to people," I said quietly. "And after what happened, I don't blame you for being so furious with him. I alternated between hating Logan's guts and missing him. There was never a happy medium."

Katie sighed. "I just want to get through all this stalker-ish crap. I want to get back to my life, to a point where James and I can be happy. I mean, I can't have a baby if we're constantly under attack by The Replacement."

"I'm sorry, Katie." I hugged her tightly, just as the timer went off on the stove. I grabbed oven mitts and opened the door, pulling out the nachos. They were perfect, hot and gooey and just the smell made me drool. Katie, on the other hand, clapped her hand over her mouth and high tailed it out of there, into what I knew was the downstairs bathroom.

I could hear her retching violently. I made a beeline for the bathroom, almost colliding with Logan and James in the hall. James slipped past me extremely gracefully for such a big guy, and hurried into the bathroom. Through the open bathroom door, I could see him kneeling down behind Katie, pulling her hair back.

"I'll check to see if they have any ginger ale," I mumbled to Logan, heading back into the kitchen. I found a bottle in the fridge and poured Katie a glass.

"Morning sickness," Logan stated.

"Isn't she a little early for that?"

"Nope, sometimes that's the first sign of pregnancy."

"Wow…weird. Okay. I hope when I get pregnant, I'll have really mild morning sickness."

Logan looked at me sideways but shrugged. "Who knows? Every woman is different."

"Well, help yourself to some nachos, but save some for James…I wonder if Katie'll be hungry…"

"Probably not for a little while. When she's ready to eat, she will." He pulled a plate down from the cabinet above the stove and flipped a few of the nachos onto it before sitting down at the kitchen table. I got myself a few of them as well and joined him.

Katie and James reappeared a little while later, Katie looking unsteady on her feet. She was leaning on James, her walk stuttered and uneven. I passed her the ginger ale and she took it gratefully, muttering out a, "Thank you." James helped her into a chair, taking the one beside her, and we sat in silence, no one bothering to try to start a conversation.

So it was a firework lighting up the night sky when Logan's phone beeped loudly. He pulled it out. "Oh, it's from Gustavo…wait…" His face drained of all color as he passed me the phone. I looked at the text and my stomach clenched, a sharp gasp erupting from my lungs. The text might have been from Gustavo's phone, but it most certainly wasn't from Gustavo:

**Oh, Logie, Logie, Logie. Trying to protect yourself from me? Do you really think that's going to work? Gustavo can't protect you or your little actress girlfriend now, Logan. But don't worry, I haven't killed him – yet. I'd prefer to do a massive killing, rather than just pick you all off one by one, but I will do it if I have to. Until then... –The Replacement.**

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**_So...yeah...are you guys ready to kill me yet? What'd you think of the chapter? Thank you for reading, and please review! I'd love to hear from you :)_**


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